Dear parent of a child with Hodgkins lymphoma,

Its 3:00 am. I am awake and shivering. Is the room too cold or am I scared? The glow of the monitors hides the shadows and shines on the panes of glass. As I gaze across the room, the bundle of blankets rests. With every breath she takes and every drip of the infusion, she fights this cancer. We can no longer explain this away, it is now part of all our lives. How are we going to get through this?

I turn aside and soon the bright light of day wakes me. "Good morning Daddy, how did you sleep?" and there sitting up in bed is the greatest hero I have ever known.

Small wins every day add up to a victory. Don't get too far ahead of yourself, stay in the moment. Write everything down and keep a log of the treatments. Reviewing your notes over the entire course of treatment is a good way to reassure yourself that progress is being made.

Today almost 2 years later I am preparing to embark on a plane to visit her, in Paris, France, living on her own, as a sophomore at New York University spending her summer abroad in Europe. Life comes at you fast.